Road grader and ditcher.



PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24.19 05.

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TNAHQ w as WET M 1 PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906. G D. EDWARDS. ROAD GRADER ANDDITGHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24.1905.

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ll 7746777 0X PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906. 0. D. EDWARDS.

ROAD GRADER AND DITCHER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24.1905.

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@W 4% wa CHARLES D. EDWARDS, OF ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA.

ROAD GRADER AND DITCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1906.

Application filed June 24, 1905- Serial N0- 268,865.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. ED ARDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Albert Lea, in the county of Freeborn and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RoadGraders and Ditchers and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to that class of machines usually designated asroad graders and ditchers, but which, as is well known, have a much moregeneral utility than indicated by such designations, being equallyserviceable for use in the construction of levees, windrows, andembankments and in leveling the surface of the ground and in doingsimilar work.

The objects of my invention, summarily stated, are as follows: to rovidea lightdraft grader which is capab e of performing a large amount ofwork, which may be driven and easily handled by one person, which isadapted for use in all kinds of soil and under all conditions thereof,which is of simple con struction and comparatively small cost, and whichis strong, durable, and has no parts which are liable to get out oforder.

To the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices andcombinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in theclaims.

The improved grader is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinlike characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of the improvedgrader. Fig. 2 is a left side elevation of the grader, some arts beingbroken away. Fig. 3 is a front e evation of the grader, some parts beingsectioned on the line 00 00 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse verticalsection taken on the liner x of Fig. 1, some parts being removed; andFig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line a x of Fig. 1.

The frame of the machine is preferably made up of three metal beams 1,2, and 3, that are rigidly connected in the form of a rightangletriangle, the beam 1 being extended transversely of the machine at thefront thereof, the beam 2 being extended from front to rear of themachine parallel to its line of movement, and the beam 3 being extendedobliquely to the line of draft of the machine and at the proper angle toafford a support for a moldboard 4, which latter is, as shown, rigidlybut detachably secured thereto by machine-screws 5. Theobliquely-extended beam 3 extends in a lower plane than the beams 1 and2. Hence a spacing-block 6 is interposed between and rigidly secured tothe forward end of said beam 3 and the overlying end of the transversebeam 1, and for the same reason a spacing-bracket 7 is rigidly securedto the rear end of said beam 3 and to the overlying rear end of the beam2. At its right-hand end the beam 1 projects beyond the beam 2, and tothe extreme end thereof a rearwardly projecting axle supporting bracket8 is rigidly secured. A short axle 9 is passed through the bracket 8,and at its inner end is rigidly secured the beam 2. The left-handforward corner of the triangular frame of the machine is adapted to besup ported by a shoe 10, the upturned portion of which is mounted toslide vertically through a suitable seat formed in theforwardly-projecting ortion of the spacing-block 6.

, Rigid y secured on the transverse beam 1 and projecting u wardtherefrom is a pair of bearings 11, in w ich is mounted a rock-shaft 12,having at its left hand end a forwardlyprojecting arm 13 and at its rearend a de pending arm 14. The free end of the arm 13 is connected to theupper end of the shoe 10 by a link 15. The free end of the arm 14 isconnected by a rod 16 to a latch-lever 17, pivoted to the beam 2 andarranged to 006 erate with a notched latch-arch 18, rigid y secured tosaid beam 2.

A so-called floating axle 19 is hinged to the frame of the machine andpreferably is rigidly secured directly to the free left-hand end of theheavy metal bar 20, the right-hand and inner end of which is hinged at21 to the intermediate portion of the beam 2. A link 22 loosely connectsthe axle 19 to the spacing-block 6 and holds the same against movementsfrom front to rear of the machine, while permitting the necessaryvertical movements of said axle and the frame of the machine withrespect to each other.

The forward end of the beam 3 is connected to the floating axle 19 bymeans of a toggleacting connection made up of links 23 and 24, theformer of which is ivotally connected to said beam 3 and the att'er ofwhich is, as shown, pivotally connected to the bearinglug 25, rigidlysecured on the axle extensionbar 20. The link 24 constitutes a rigidfoot extension of an operating-lever 26 and, as shown, is formedintegral therewith.

Loosely journaled 011 each of the axles 9 and 19 is alandside-wheel, socalled, (indicated by the numeral 27.) These wheels 27 are provided withcontinuous peripheral faces and at one side are provided withradially-projecting thrust-resisting blades 28. The outer egdes of saidblades 28 are sharpened, and the blades of the one wheel lie in a commonplane, so that they make up a broken or interrupted peripheral flange.The novel features of construction involved in this improved wheelindependent of its association with other parts is not herein claimed,for the reason that the same is the subject-matter of a companionapplication filed of even date herewith and entitled Landside-wheels.For the purpose of this application it is, however, important to notethat the thrust-resisting blades 28 are located on the pressure sidesofthe said wheelsthat is, on those sides thereof that are pressedlaterally'against the soil when the machine is in operation. Toillustrate, in the scraping actlon the pressure on the moldboard 4 wouldtend to force the entire machine toward the left with respect to aperson following or riding on the machine. Hence the said blades 28 areapplied on the lefthand sides of the said wheels. This arrangementcauses the wheels to be self-clearing in their action that is, causesthe dirt to be forced laterally from the peripheries of the wheelsinstead of packing the same tightly in the angles between theperipheries of the wheels and the said blades,as would be the case underany other arrangements. It is also important to note that the saidwheels are set to work in planes slightly at an angle to the directionof travel of the machine, so that they will cause the machine to tend towork toward the center of the road, and thus to offset or neutralize thetendency of the machine to crowd laterally in a reverse direction.

'Rigidly secured to the intermediate portion of the beam 1, at a properpoint for the application thereto of the pole, is a stub-bar 29, thatprojects both forward and rearward of said beam 1. The pole 30 ispivotally attached at 31 to the forward end of the bar 29. The rear endof the bar 29 is turned upward, and a latch-lever 32 is pivoted theretoat 33. The latch of this lever 32 cooperates with a notched lock-segment34, which is rigidly secured directly to the rear end of the bar 29and'indirectly to the transverse beam 1. The intermediate portion of thelever 32 is connected by a short link 35 to the rear'end of anupwardly-inclined arm 36, the forward end of which is rigidly secured tothe rear end of the pole, so that it becomes, in fact, a rear endextension of the pole.

The numeral 37 indicates a drivers seat secured by a spring-post 38 to aframe-beam 3. If desired, the shoe 10 may be supplanted in whole or inpart by a wheel; but I have obtained the best results by the use of theflat-bottom shoe arranged as shown in the drawings.

Operation: When it is desired to throw the moldboard into an inoperativeposition, as is the case when the machine is to run idle from one placeto another or when the machine is being turned around, the lever 26 ismoved from the position indicated by full lines in Fig. 2 into theposition indicated by dotted lines in said view. This arrangement ofsaid lever throws the member 24 upward and backward beyond adead-center, so that the toggle made up of the members 23 and 24 willthen hold the moldboard 4, the shoe 10, and the triangular frame of themachine in an elevated position, and the weight thereof at the lefthandside of the machine will then be supported by the wheel 27, which is onthe end of the floating axle 19. When the machine is to be thrown intoaction, the lever 26 is thrown forward, as shown by full lines in Fig.2, and moldboard 4, shoe 10, and the frame of the machine will then belowered. The depth of the out which will be made by the forward portionof the moldboard 4 may be varied by vertical adjustments of the shoe 10,said adjustments of the shoe being accomplished by movements of thelatch-lever 17 and intermediate connections already described. Bymovements of the latch-lever 32the rear end of the pole extension 36 maybe drawn nearer to or forced farther away from the rear end of thestub-bar 29, which is rigidly secured to the triangular frame of themachine and to which the said lever itself is pivoted. For instance, byforward movement of said lever 32 the said parts 36 and 29 will beforced farther apart, thereby throwing downward the rear end of themoldboard 4, while by a rearward movement of said lever 32 said parts 36and 29 will be drawn closer together and the rear end of the moldboard 4will be raised. By this means the moldboard may be set at any desiredangle which may be required for the various kinds of work which it willbe called upon to perform. Under such endwise-rocking movements of themoldboard 4 and the frame which carries it the weight of the said partsis taken on the shoe 10 and on the righthand wheel 27 and the pivotalmovement of the parts 36 and 29 takes place on the pivot 31. The weightof the driver on the seat 37 helps to hold the moldboard down to itswork. The levers 17, 26, and 32, and especially said levers 17 and 32,stand within easy reach of the person on the seat 37. When the moldboardis drawn over the ground under the forward movement of the machine, thewheel on the floating axle- 19 maintains engagement with the groundregardless of all irregularities in the road traveled by the said wheeland by the said moldboard. By virtue of its pivotal connection 21, whichpermits free vertical movements of said axle 19, the said wheel mountedthereon is free to drop quickly into a rut or depression or to run overa knoll or sudden rise in the ground without at any time causing itsblades 28 to lose contact with ground. The two wheels, with theirblades, absolutely prevent sidewise crowding of the machine andpositively hold the moldboard to its Work, and they also hold themachine against horizontal oscillatory movements or side shuck.

In the specification and in certain of the claims one of the axles isreferred to as fixed and as projecting from one side of themachineframe, by which is meant that the said axle is held to move withthe said frame irrespective of whether or not it is mounted to rotatewith respect thereto.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as follows:

1. In a gradingmachine, thecombination with a frame and a moldboardapplied thereto, of a fixed axle projecting from one side of said frame,a floating axle pivotally connected to saidframe and projecting at theother side thereof, wheels on said axle, and connection between saidfloating axle and said frame, whereby the weight of that side of theframe may be thrown onto the wheel of said floating axle, at will,substantially as de scribed.

2. The combination With a triangular frame and a moldboard applied tothe oblique side thereof, of a fixed axle projecting from one side ofsaid frame, a floating axle hinged to said frame and projecting at theother side thereof, and flanged ground-wheels on said axles,substantially as described.

3. The combination with a triangular frame and a moldboard applied tothe oblique side thereof, of a shoe applied at one corner portion ofsaid frame, means for raising and lowering the frame of said shoe, afixed axle projecting at the other side of said frame, a floating axlehinged to said frame and projecting at the landside thereof, wheelsmounted on said axles, and a connection between said frame and floatingaxle for throwing the weight of that side of the frame onto the wheel ofsaid floating axle, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a triangular frame and a moldboard applied tothe oblique side thereof, of a pole hinged to the forward por tion ofsaid frame, and means for raising and lowering the rear portion of saidframe, to

vary the position of said moldboard with re spect to a horizontal plane,substantially as described.

5. The combination with a triangular frame and a moldboard applied tothe oblique side thereof, of a pole pivoted to the forward portion ofsaid frame, a shoe and a wheel supporting the forward portion of saidframe, and a connection between said frame and said pole, for raisingand lowering the rear portion of said frame and moldboard, with arocking action on said shoe and wheel, substantially as described.

6. A grading-machine having a wheel arranged to resist side thrusts andmounted to move freely upward and downward with respect to its moldboardor scraper and with out lifting the said moldboard or scraper from theground, substantially as described.

7. In a grading-machine, the combination with a frame having a moldboardor scraper,

of an axle extending across said moldboard, hinged at one end to saidframe, and a wheel on the other end of said axle provided withprojecting plates arranged to resist side thrusts, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix-my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES D. EDWARDS.

Witnesses:

C. B. KELLAR, B. B. SKINNER.

